FEED & FEEDING GOATS
Reproduced from ICAR – Central Coastal Agriculture Research Institute Agri E- Portal
Feed and Feeding of Goat
Herbivorous animals may be classified into two broad categories i.e., the first preferring grasses e.g. cattle, sheep etc. and second preferring woody plants and pods with supplementations of grasses and herbages e.g. goat. Therefore, it is desirable that a balance between browsers and graziers be maintained for fool proof soil, plant, animal’s ecosystem. As the goats are browser in feeding habit they prefer shrubs and tree leaves to grasses and pasture (Skerman, 1977). On an average goat receive mixture of grasses, shrubs, weeds, thorny plants, pods, tree leaves etc.
The DM requirement of goat is much higher than cattle and sheep due to higher BMR and thyroxine production in goat. Dry matter requirement of meat breed, dual purpose breed and milch breed of goat is 4 %, 5 % and 6 % respectively. Goat is also very efficient in digesting crude protein, crude fiber and NFE in comparison to sheep, cattle and buffalo. The superior digestive efficiency, especially of crude fibre in goats can be attributed to their slower rate of passage of digesta. It was reported that the goats are more efficient in the digestion of lignin than the buffaloes, cattle and sheep. Hence tree leaves and shrubs contribute about 60 % of diets of goats.
There are many indigenous and exotic shrubs and tree leaves in India than can be successfully propagated in either silvi-pastoral system or agro-forestry systems for better production of tree leaves. The most promising fodder trees and shrubs are Leucaena leucocephala, Acacia tortilis, Albizia amora, Ficus religiosa, Ficus glomerata, Sesbania sesban, Dichrostachys mutans, Pittosporum phillyraesides, Atriplex spp., Azarachta indica, Melia azedarach, Ailanthus excels would be produced and fed to the goats.
There are forests by products such as banana leaves, banana stem, pine apple leaves, wild roots and tubers; leaves of jackfruit, tapioca would be used for feeding goats. Banana leaves are rich in riboflavin and vitamin A, but poor in sodium so after adding common salt it could be utilized for feeding goat. Water hyacinth is a weed commonly available in Eastern and North Eastern region of India. It would be used for feeding goats. Pine apple leaves and needles are excellent vitamin source and would be utilized for feeding goats (Verma et al, 1982).
If sufficient browsing materials and tree leaves are not available cultivated fodders such as Paragrass, Guinea grass, Barseem, Lucern, Hybrid Napier, Maize may be given for maintenance and production. Cowpea, Rice bean and Stylo are the promising leguminous fodder would be grown for feeding goats. Das and Satapaty (2006) reported that absolute weight gain and average daily gain of Black Bengal goats were higher in 70 % roughage feeding than sole roughing feeding, on both Congosignal and Guinea grass feeding while maintained in Integrated Farming System . In the absence of good quality green fodder concentrate mixture should be given to goats for maintaining production and health. Concentrate supplement for grower, finisher, adult and breeder should be @ 100 g / d, 150 g / d, 200 g / d and 250 g / d respectively. The concentrate requirement for nursing doe should be 300 g / d. The BMR of goat is high and the mineral content of goat milk is higher than any milk. Therefore mineral requirement of goat is high. Hence mineral mixture should be added to the ration of goat @ 2 %.
Some golden rules of feeding are as follows:-
- The aim should be to keep every goat in the herd in good bodily condition, not too thin and not too fat, all the year round.
- Food must be stored properly prior to feeding, to protect it from damp, contamination and vermin. Food must be hygienically presented to the herd with an understanding of goat behavior so that each animal gets its share.
- Good hay is the single most important item of the diet. At least half the diet (on a dry weight basis) should consist of forage.
- Green food, concentrates, minerals, vitamins and water are also important, and a balanced and adequate diet is crucial to success. Any change to the diet fed must be made gradually to enable the population of rumen bacteria to adjust.
- Kids must receive colostrum immediately after their birth, followed by a sufficient milk diet leading up to weaning.
- Drinking water must be clean, fresh and always available. In a study on effect of water restriction for goat on thermo-regulatory responses it was revealed that goat would overcome the adverse effect of water restriction by its adaptive mechanism ie reducing sweating rate and respiration rate (Das et al, 1994). They would be maintained on once daily watering for a period of 15 m in dry arid region where water is a limiting factor in summer and winter.
